Orchardgateway and Ion Orchard have been named the best-dressed buildings in Orchard Road for their festive decorations this year.
Orchardgateway won the Voters' Choice Award, bagging close to 28 per cent (4,904) of the 17,551 shopper votes cast, for its "An Icicle Xmas" theme featuring glittering icicles hanging from the mall's facade.
Ion Orchard was the judges' favourite with an outdoor space transformed into a Christmas wonderland and an outdoor Swarovski Christmas tree adorned with more than 28,000 crystals.
The annual contest, which evaluated the buildings' day and night Christmas decoration effects, saw eight malls vying for the two awards. The malls were also judged on their use of interactive features to create an engaging experience for shoppers. The result of this year's Best Dressed Building Contest breaks Orchard Central's winning streak. The mall had won top awards for the past four years.
Mr Mark Shaw, chairman of Orchard Road Business Association, which organised the contest, said: "We thank all participants for their efforts in decorating their malls. The stunning facades on the participating buildings have contributed to ringing in the festivities in our precinct. Together with our Christmas lights, we hope shoppers enjoy not just shopping in our malls, but also this visual spectacle on our streetscape."
The other six malls - Forum The Shopping Mall, Mandarin Gallery, Paragon, Tanglin Mall, Tangs at Tang Plaza and Wheelock Place - received merit awards. The top two malls will get a $25,000 cash prize each, while the merit winners will each receive $10,000.
"We are delighted and grateful that shoppers have voted overwhelmingly for Orchardgateway," said Mr Vincent Soh, the mall's chief executive, adding that Orchardgateway will give away free $10 shopping vouchers to the first 500 shoppers tomorrow from 2.30pm as a token of appreciation.
Mr Chris Chong, CEO of Orchard Turn Retail Investment, which owns Ion Orchard, said the sparkling Swarovski walk-in tree was a hit with shoppers and tourists, as evident on social media.
The contest is one of the highlights in Orchard Road this Christmas season. There will also be festive performances from today to next Wednesday in Singapore's most famous shopping street.
Shopper Yen Li Poh, 32, said such decorations help to pump up the festive spirit. The civil servant took a drive down Orchard Road last week to view the light-up with her two young children.
"Christmas lights are a must. They add to the festive mood. My elder child was so excited in the car, she just kept saying 'wow'."
